tonite watching the msnbc coverage of the nice, france, tragedy, the incompetence of american broadcast media strikes an appalling chord! now, when i want facts, truth, i search overseas media from the source nation or from international sources because our media has nothing to do with real journalism any longer.
for example, on msnbc, the driver of the truck is described in elaborate multisyllabic words and phrases for maximum shock effect with voices rising in horrified pitch while describing the scene. in the european and british press, the driver of the truck that killed so many was simply described as a thug, a 31 yr old criminal with multiple run-ins with the law — he held both tunisian and french papers and appears to have acted alone. the truck was a rental, he was wearing a helmet in preparation for the ultimate confrontation with the police (according to eye-witnesses), yet, the msnbc anchor Alex Witt (NOT julia banderas as i mislabeled, mea culpa!) does what so many american talking heads do — she personalizes the experience and breathlessly describes what SHE perceives to be the story. there is no separation between reporter (which she isn’t) and the story — as if her opinion is the story, her reaction is the story. it isn’t and, frankly, i don’t care WHAT the bobbleheads think or feel or tell in the breathless speculation. i want facts, damnit. i want information without the intrusion of the hosts of the infotainment media.
in the rush to find “experts”, the truck was described as “filled with explosives when the “weapons” that were allegedly in the back of the truck, according to french media, were fake long guns and an inactive grenade. yet, the anchors compare this act with the first trade center bombing — when there IS no reason to compare. ALL of the updates found on overseas media sites that appear to value fact over speculation, including this timeline from the telegraph in UK.
"He was known to the police for violence, and using weapons, but had no direct links with terrorism," said an investigating source. "His identity car was found in the lorry. He had French and Tunisian nationality."
A search of the vehicle uncovered a pistol, a larger gun, and a number of fake weapons and grenades.
what do we get? we get witt (with her long blonde hair perfectly curled over one shoulder) interviewing some guy named brian from philadelphia who is frantically speculating how this is isis and a coordinated attack with a truck load of explosives like the first trade center bombing that could have brought down a hotel or building and... and… and… and… — none of which has been verified or confirmed. the speculation and bloviating opinions have NOTHING to do with the facts known or unknown! each of these people, anchors, media pundits, SHOULD have staff that are capable of googling the overseas media to find out the facts as released by the french before going off on wild tangents of scenarios they, themselves create. they are not doing that — instead, they are drawing their own pictures and agendas based on what “sells”. this has nothing to do with journalism — it has everything to do with tabloid broadcasting and is just the tip of the mountain of pretend that claims to be “american journalism”.
this is why we have a trump so close to the white house. this is why we have the majority of those polled (in the cleverly worded push polls) that claim clinton is “dishonest” (remember that old question, “when did you stop beating your spouse?”) this is why the american public is so damned ignorant! (but, but, but, i saw it on TEEVEE, so it MUST be “true”)
we are in a world of trouble when there is no legitimate media in this nation. when WE do not hold those with the microphones accountable, we will lose our right to know truth.
when we have msnbc and cnn anchors (and faux and more) so busy expousing their own opinions that their guests have no time to offer information or fact, we are in trouble.
when we shut down analog signals making the population purchase the digital cable paid advertising stations with a smattering of pretend news outlets, we are in trouble.
when online opinions and blogs attempt to replace real journalists (who are experienced in research and fact finding and who actually verify from multiple sources), we are in trouble.
what is the solution? i don’t know. turn off the cable? refuse to allow undocumented and unverified “reports” to go unchallenged? how many hours are in a day.
what i fear is that the internet will be monitored to shut down the “terrorist” sites while limiting our ability to find truth, to do research, to learn and verify. already, gingrich is stating that anyone who searches a “terrorist” site should be charged with a felony and any site promoting “terrorism” should be shut down — is this an excuse to shut down greater news sources? i fear we are in trouble.
i don’t know the solution. but i don’t like the lack of veracity in our current entertainment shows that pass for “media”— especially when it is so damned easy to do that research to verify before making wild claims (that will boost ratings or the (lack of) credibility of the “experts” called on to spout off their opinions.
when WE write, we can verify, research, link and source the materials we publish. WE can become the “citizen journalists” ONLY if we do our own hard work in finding out the facts before we publish. and, we MUST delineate between opinion and factual news! the two are NOT the same!
where have all the real journalists gone? done in by the likes of the van gorden sauters of the world who object to what they perceived to be “liberal bias” when, in actuality, the bias was toward presenting ALL the facts and letting the viewers decide what is truth. (read and weep the links above)
i weep for america in all its ignorance — for a nation uninformed or, worse, misinformed.
and,
we are in trouble.
Edward R. Murrow
We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. When the loyal opposition dies, I think the soul of America dies with it.
Anyone who isn't confused really doesn't understand the situation.
We cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.
No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.
The obscure we see eventually. The completely obvious, it seems, takes longer.
Just because your voice reaches halfway around the world doesn't mean you are wiser than when it reached only to the end of the bar.
Everyone is a prisoner of his own experiences. No one can eliminate prejudices - just recognize them.
The speed of communications is wondrous to behold. It is also true that speed can multiply the distribution of information that we know to be untrue.
A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves.